How to support pupils & parents in SATs week

By Vicky Hart - 14 May, 2019
Education
4 Minutes Read

With SATs week well underway it is important to know how to best support your pupils and parents through the process.

Keep engaged with your parent community

Ensure parents and pupils are clear on what is happening and when. SATs week can be daunting for both. Make sure they have the right list of resources i.e. websites and books to help their children prepare. Clear guidance helps parents focus on assisting their children with the right resources.

SchoolPing helps schools to keep parents in the know, by allowing schools to send out messages with attachments (like newsletters, photos and more) straight to parent’s mobile devices. Parents can get notifications anytime, if they have internet access, and see what their child’s been doing that day or week. With no charges per message sent, schools are free to keep parents in the know all year round!

How much revision should they be doing?

Pupils shouldn’t spend hours revising each night. Short bursts of 30 minutes revisiting the learning they have already completed should be enough.

DB Primary, our online platform, allows teachers to set activities and work for the pupils to complete at home. Accessible anytime, anywhere, allows pupils to continue to learn and revise in the comfort of their own home. Alongside that, parents can also login and view their child’s progress – or just be there to support the learning on the computer!

Share advice on how to reduce SATs related stress

The need to support children is huge for parents and knowing the right way can sometimes be tough. Promising presents for good grades or pushing children to do well can sometimes do the opposite of what parents want to achieve.

Parents will want to keep their children happy and stress free, in the run up to and during SATs week – so maybe offer tips about what parents can do to stress relieve their children. It doesn’t have to be expensive, it could be a trip to the local park or cooking their favourite meal.

You can send home ideas and updates for stress relief, via SchoolPing – or use the games within DB Primary to let pupils learn and play at the same time!

Eating the right food, exercise and sleep

Getting a balanced diet and eating slow release energy foods such as bananas can help relieve any stress the body might expel during SATs week. Don’t forget breakfast – it is the most important meal they will have that day!

Exercise is a proven stress buster so once they have finished exams for the day let them loose in a park or give them some time doing their favorite hobbies such as dance, football etc.

Sleep is vital to concentration so ensure children are getting to bed on time and getting a good night’s sleep. Sounds obvious but increase stress can cause unsettled sleep so it is vital that they have enough time to settle.

Encourage and reassure children through the process

Probably the most important piece of advice we have for parents is for them to make sure the children know that SATs aren’t the most important thing in the world and they shouldn’t put themselves under too much pressure to attain certain grades. Encourage them to do their best but ensure they know that their best is ALWAYS good enough.

Once they have come to the end of SATs – maybe plan a nice treat. Don’t use this as a bribe for doing well – just present this as a celebration for doing their best at the end of the week.

All in all, SATs can be a tough time for everyone – especially the children – but as long as schools, teachers, parents and pupils all work together, it should hopefully be a stress-free, learning opportunity for everyone!

Author: Vicky Hart

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